his brother, but he did this time.
“Does Papa know?”
Joss heard the question through the closed door as he flipped the lock.
He leaned back against the door then sighed as his shoulders slumped.
Minnie peeked out of the hall. “You all right?”
“I don’t like fighting with my brother, but I didn’t want to tell him anything yet.”
“So he thinks you’ve snuck a woman into your quarters.” She stopped in front of him.
“That’s not a technically inaccurate statement.” He gave her a half-smile. “Though it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
“It is,” she agreed.
He pushed off from the door and took her hand, leading her to the sitting area. “I think we should decide what we want the end result to be here before we talk to my father, though.”
“Agreed. What are your thoughts?” she asked as they sat down.
He held her hand within both of his. “I want this to work. I can’t honestly say I’m in love with you at this point, and it would shock me if you could right now, but I’d like to work toward that.”
“I would, too.”
“Which means I need to get you a ring, and we may want to have a more real wedding with real vows.” It didn’t much matter to Joss, he’d behave as though their vows were normal either way but he suspected it would to Minnie.
“That sounds nice. Maybe in a different part of the gardens than Caleb and Rosie?” She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“That would be nice.”
“Good. Then we’ll have a united front to show my father when we meet with him.” Joss’s phone buzzed. He looked to see who the text was from. “My father rearranged his morning schedule, but he’ll have to be here early to make certain we have enough time. Meeting here means you don’t have to walk around just yet.”
“How early?”
“Seven.”
She groaned and laughed at the same time. “I don’t like doing early.”
“I know.” He rested his cheek against her head. “But it means we probably better get some rest.”
He could sense her hesitation. “I didn’t have much of a chance to explore. Maybe you could give me a quick tour?”
Joss knew what she referred to. “I’ll sleep out here.” He squeezed her hand. “I don’t think either one of us is ready for more than that.”
“Thank you.”
He rubbed her hand. “I don’t think I’d turn down a good night kiss, though.”
Minnie laughed. “I think I’d like that.”
“Good.” He lifted his head off hers and released her hand. “Why don’t I get ready for bed then I’ll show you around?”
“Sounds good.”
Joss slept better on the couch than he expected, but still wasn’t prepared for his father’s knock on the door.
He let his father in. Minnie curtsied as Joss bowed his head.
“Thank you for meeting with me so early this morning,” his father said as they walked toward the dining room table, doubling as a conference table since Joss’s quarters were not equipped with one.
“Of course, sir.” Joss followed his father into the dining area.
His father sat at the head of the table. Joss sat on one side and Minnie the other.
“Before we start, sir, you should know that Minnie and I talked again last night. We want to make a go of this. We want to stay married, have another ceremony in one of the other gardens, and go public before long.”
His father nodded. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. I like the idea of another ceremony for many reasons, not just the public relations side of it. However, I would like to keep it quiet for a while longer. There’s more going on behind the scenes than I can discuss here at the moment.”
Joss shared a confused look with Minnie. She didn’t seem to know any more than he did about what his father meant.
“Lady Waterford, there are a few things I’d like to discuss with you. Things you might be able to shed some light on.”
She gave Joss the same look again. “Of course, sir, but I’m not sure how I might be able to help.”
“Can you tell me everything you know about when and how a significant portion of your father’s wealth went missing?”
Minnie shook her head. “All I know is that one day he told me he’d fired a bunch of the staff, and I was moving to the house manager’s apartment to save money. I was to do anything and everything in my power to land a prince or the son of a duke. Period. I don’t know anything